Community Services of DeKalb
A WebQuest for Second Graders

Introduction

What can you do in DeKalb to help people and our community? Many people are working to help preserve our history, support people who have special needs, and try to make DeKalb a better place to live. Who are some of the people who serve DeKalb?

The Task

You will use this WebQuest to learn more about community services in DeKalb. You will investigate different organizations in DeKalb and think about what each one is doing to help our community. After the WebQuest, our class will talk to people from each of the community services to ask them questions and find out how kids like you can help! After you talk about these different community services, we will choose one way as a class that we can help.

Put your thinking caps on as we learn about our community and prepare to discuss the best way we can help as a class.

The Process

To complete this WebQuest you will do the following things :

  1. First you'll be assigned to a team of three students.
  2. Make sure your team has a copy of the worksheet to complete while you are looking at the web sites.
  3. Take turns using the computer, reading out loud from the computer, and writing on the worksheet.
  4. Go first to the Epilepsy Foundation to learn about how to help people with Epilepsy in our community.
  5. Answer the questions about Epilespsy on your worksheet.
  6. Then write your three questions you would like to ask our visitor from the Epilepsy Foundation when she comes to speak to us.
  7. Now, go to the Glidden Homestead website and write your answers about this website.
  8. Write down three questions you still have about the Glidden Homestead.
  9. Next, go to RAMP to learn more about what this community organization does.
  10. Write down what you learned about RAMP on your worksheet.
  11. Now, write down what you still would like to know about RAMP.

Talk with your group about what you have learned so far. Which community service agency do you like the best so far? Which one do you have the best questions for?

Evaluation

You will be graded using the following chart:

  Beginning
1
Developing
2
Accomplished
3
Exemplary
4
Score
Working Well Together

Your team wasn't sharing, talking nicely, and working well together.

Everybody in your team worked hard, paid attention, took turns, and shared responsibility sometimes.

Everybody in your team worked hard, paid attention, took turns, and shared responsibility most of the time.

Everybody in your team worked hard, paid attention, took turns, and shared responsibility all the time.

 
Completing your whole worksheet neatly

There are a lot of blanks on your worksheet and it is too hard to read.

Your whole worksheet is almost done. It's hard to read.

Your whole worksheet is completed neatly. We can tell that more than one student took a turn writing.

Your whole worksheet is completed very neatly. We can tell that everyone in your group took a turn writing.

 
The quality of the answers on your worksheet

The answers on your worksheet aren't right and the questions you wrote don't make a lot of sense.

Some of the answers on your worksheet aren't right and some of the questions you wrote don't make a lot of sense.

The answers on your worksheet usually correct about the websites and your own questions are good.

The answers on your worksheet are right about the websites and your own questions are very thoughtful.

 

Conclusion

You are the first class in DeKalb to finish a WebQuest about our community resources. What did you like about this WebQuest? Are there other community services you would like to learn about besides the three we looked at here?

Credits and References

Thank you to Mary Baker Turner, of the Northern Illinois University College of Education Tech Services for her assistance.

We appreciate the kid-friendly website and staff at the Epilepsy Foundation (North Central Illinois)

Thank you Glidden Homestead for the information and use of photos. 

Thank you to the volunteers at RAMP.

Questions

This WebQuest was designed by:

Mary Beth Henning, Ph.D.
mhenning@niu.edu 

Mrs. Danielle Bell
Danielle.Bell@dist428.org 


Glidden Homestead




Volunteering time in our DeKalb community.

Contact Info

Mary Beth Henning, Ph.D.
Gabel Hall 166C
815-753-8591
mhenning@niu.edu